Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ TTHS-City Musical: The Phantom of the City ❯ Magical Discovery ( Chapter 2 )

CHAPTER TWO

Next day it was Saturday. Dick and friends met at a café called Bens. They still were hardly able to believe Garfield was gone. The goths were starting to show some signs of concern to. “It's not like he's our friend or anything?” Raven pointed. “He never was a bright guy.”

Vic decided that maybe they change the subject, “Like the grand opening of that new office-complex tomorrow night. Man, that thing is so wrong.”

The others agreed. There already enough office complexes and industry plants in the city already. They didn't need anymore, but form what they had heard, Mayor Jackson prohibited protesting, or you'd be put in jail.

“Whoever made him mayor in the first place?” Kato.

Dick knew one reason why. “He's trying to be brave and restate evolution in this town.”

Kori didn't understand much of that because she had only moved to Jump-City a few months ago. Dick explained to her that a long time ago people stopped coming to live in Jump-City and ran away from it, “Because the city itself is believed to be haunted.”

“Haunted…?!” Vic and Kori gasped.

“Haunted…?” said the goths, both seemed interested.

Dick eased any worries by explained that it wasn't haunted by a ghost, or anything like that. “It's haunted by a phantom.”

He went on to explain an old story he had heard once about how the phantom was a mysterious renegade avenger who was once a skilled magician, some said he was better than Houdini, but one day his theater, which was located in a forest somewhere outside of the city, was closed-down and was going to be demolished to make way for the growing city.

The man, whose name was never revealed, he began to use his magician tricks to scare people away and keep them all form ever coming near his theater again, and to make matters worse, he took his rage upon the city which was also undergoing change.

Any change that the phantom didn't like, he would don a costume, mask, and cape, and interfere on opening nights where he would destroy the buildings, and then as if by actual magic… reconstruct what was once there.

Eventually he was captured and executed, but he warned everyone that his curse would never be broken, and he would continue to haunt the city for as long as greed and corruption existed within the limits.

The gang almost seemed impressed, but form behind, someone said. “How pathetic. Believing in these fairy tales.”

It was Garfield. He hadn't left the city yet, and was just taking some time to make some extra money before his planned trip. He was entertaining some people over at his table. “There's no such thing as magic… it's all in the trick.”

That's right, he was doing magic tricks, by kind permission of the manager, as it helped keep his own business going. Garfield did simple tricks like pulled hankies out of someone's mouth, making flowers appear in his bare hands.

The people liked it and gave him some money. It was basically how Garfield made his livings. He had no family and was pretty much on his own, and he never was willing to say of what happened to his folks.

Raven however was not impressed. Especially when he did the old ball-under-the-cup trick. He made the ball vanish, “You put it up your sleeve.” Raven said, but Garfield insisted “How...? I'm wearing short sleeves.”

The other people applauded him some more. Garfield then decided to make Raven a bet. He placed the ball under the cup again, “I'll show you I can move that ball, and that ball only without touching the cup, or the table.”

Everyone in the whole café peered in closer to see, but Raven was still not impressed. “You'll never do it.”

“Or really…?” remarked Garfield. “But how do you know the ball is still there.”

“Huh…?” Raven refused to believe that. There was no way the ball couldn't have been under the cup. “Why don't you have a look?” Garfield suggested. “Fine!” Raven snapped. “I will.”

“Raven… wait…!” Kato called, but his girlfriend had already lifted the cup revealing that the ball was still under the cup, and Garfield took it. “I told you I could get it without touching the cup or the table.”

The people to laugh at Raven. She had fallen for one of the oldest tricks there was. Garfield gathered his stuff, took his money and left, and gazed back at the others, “Phantom? Yeah right…?”

Then he was gone.

“Oooo…kay…” Vic said still unable to believe what had just happened.

…

As Garfield drove through the city, he passed by the site of the new office-complex. “Pathetic!” he scoffed. He knew that thing never should have been built. It reminded him of when his folks died.

He remembered small fractions of that horrible day-- High waters… rushing rapids… he was just a little boy screaming. “Mommy! Daddy! Help me…! HELP!”

He squeezed the handle bars tightly trying to fight back his angry, sad tears. “All this because of change.” He thought to himself. “When will those idiots realize…?”

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't watch where he was going and almost hit the car ahead of him. “Hey, brat boy… watch where you're going!” snapped a voice. Garfield hoped it wasn't but it was Jackie, who could drive, and she was with Jillian and Terra on a shopping spree. Garfield pulled up into the lane alongside them as his moped was small enough to fit.

“Garfield…?” Terra said trying to be nice, but Garfield just ignored her. “Don't bother with him.” Jillian said. “He's just living the lowlife like the dog he is.”

Jackie laughed at that and slapped her friend a high-five, but Garfield was not impressed, while the light was still red. “Hey, Jackie what's this?” he said a she leaned near her. “What the heck are you doing…?” she snarled at him. “It's not wonder you never listen in school, you got cloth in your ears.” And he did the old hankie-stream trick, much to Jackie's horror. “Huh…?”

Garfield let her do the rest of the pulling, until she reached the end and found a small cap which blew up in her face making covering her and Jillian in soot. Terra couldn't help but laugh, but the girls were outraged and before they could do anything, Garfield revved on his moped, drove thought he green light and was gone. They'd never catch him now.

…

Garfield made it home, to an old abandoned theater in a forest outside the city. It looked in bad shape but it was still standing strong. He managed to convert it into a home for himself because he didn't have anywhere to live, couldn't afford to pay bills and rent with what little money he made and people didn't dare come to this place still believing in that phantom nonsense. “What a joke.” He said to himself. “There's no such thing as magic.”

Inside it was dark, and a little creepy, but having lived here for years, Garfield wasn't scared one bit. He made it up to his room, which was actually an old dressing room in the upper floors where he had an old rotted bed he had made from bits and pieces of sheets and an old mattress he found someone's lawn one day.

He also had a special machine that was playing a song all through the theater, a dark yet soothing song that made you feel lighter, and more relaxed. (The Song of Healing, inside the clock tower, Majora's Mask)

It was also nice and quiet because no one would bother him and he could catch up on his reading and studying with ease. Especially studying more of old magician tricks in a very old book he had.

…

Meanwhile, at town-hall…

Two men were meeting with Mayor Jackson. These two men were Jackie and Jillian's fathers, John and Joseph. They were both architects, and had come to present their final blueprints of the new freeway Mayor Jackson wanted to make, and a new packing plant. All that remained was to select a zone to build them, and Jackson had already selected two places, much to Dodgers dismay. “But sir… a freeway through there would go right thought the seniors home, and the children's playground…. And that packing plant you want goes right on the sight of an apartment building with a children's playground and a pond near it. You can't possibly be planning to build there.”

Jackson merely sniggered. “Of course not-- not until we've evicted all the people out of there.”

Dodgers gulped hard. “Evict… all those people… sir? But where will they go? How will they live?”

Jackson didn't care about all that, it meant that he would have to pay compensation, and despite already being wealthy enough to easily do so, he was really that greedy. “You must have more confidence, Dodgers. That's what made me mayor, and you just my right-wing.”

Dodgers, once again, was forced to apologize for seemingly stepping out line. He had work to do now. “I'll begin eviction tomorrow afternoon.”

Jackson nodded, “Good… and make it snappy, I wouldn't want to be late for the unveiling of the complex tomorrow.”

John and Joseph were pleased about this too. They always dreamed of living in a rich person's town, not a place of middle class citizens. “Get rid of the poor… and feed the rich.” John always liked to say.

“Amen to that…” Joseph said as he lit his cigar with a hundred-dollar bill.

…

Meanwhile, Garfield was still thinking about many places he wanted to travel too when he started his long trip. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how things could have been if his life were different. Instead of just pan-handling for money, and working himself too hard everyday… what if he could just be a normal person? With a fantastic job, people who appreciated him just for who he was, and never have any problems at all…

“Who am I kidding…?” he said. “Like that's ever going to happen.” It was bad enough he was orphaned with no family, but he still highly detested changes… especially when they affected him for the worse… like the change that killed his parents.

“Mommy…! Daddy…! Help me…! HELP…!”

He snapped out of his trance, and held his head in sadness and a bit of frustration. He really wished there was something he could do about all this, as he fell flat on his bed, his hand collided into he wall. “Ow…!”

Then he looked back at the wall to revel some of the bricks had moved slightly like a revolving door. “What the…?” Garfield had never noticed this before. He got up and pushed on the stone revealing a secret staircase. It was dark, so he grabbed a flashlight and followed the stairs.

Down, down, down he went, you'd think he was heading for the center of the Earth, but really he had emerged in a secret grotto. “Whoa…!” he exclaimed. Then as if my magic, the whole place lit up with torches on the walls. The grotto seemed vaguely empty except for a few small things resting on a large boulder near him.

It was very large, very old book full of tricks and secrets Garfield had never seen before, and right next to it was an old magician's cane lodged into the stone.

“Dude…!” Garfield exclaimed. He grabbed the cane and pulled on it with all his might, hoping to examine it more thoroughly, but no sooner did he slide it out did the cane start to glow. “Wha…?!” he threw it to the ground and backed away, but the cane continued to glow… and then… the image of a strange being appeared, like some sort of holographic message.

The image seemed to be speaking directly to Garfield, and said…

“To you, who has been fortunate enough to find my secret grotto means you are one just as I was in life.”

Garfield couldn't help was make a confused look. “What…?” he asked, but the image continued to deliver its message.

“Once I had stood up for what I believed was right, and punished those of greed and injustice. Unfortunately, I am no longer amongst the living and am unable to carry out my mission, but if you truly wish to make a difference for the better of your life and help others as you find theirs, I will bestow upon you a force like no other.”

The images faded back into the glowing cane, and as if by magic, it floating into Garfield's hand. “With the use of all that I have learned and my spirit residing in this cane, you, and you alone shall become the Phantom, and lead the city to a better age of righteousness and peace.”

The cane stopped glowing, and Garfield felt really confused, but he didn't believe a word of this and threw the cane back on the ground, which made it fire a zap of energy that made flowers appear. “Whoa…!”

He picked up the cane again and waved it around. He did all sorts of things with it. He conjured up small light projectiles, was able to slice through solid rock, and naturally he even able to perform magician tricks of which he never thought possible. He teleported, created things out of mid air or other objects like the leaves and dust.

This finally made him realize the phantom really was a real person, all this time he thought it was superstitious fiddle-fuddle, but nothing else of the wondrous things he had just witness would explain it.

Still, right now he was faced with a most difficult decision. True, he did now have a chance to make some of his wishes and dreams come true, but… was it right…?

Did he dare take up on the spirit's offer and become… The Phantom…?